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Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!seismo!rlgvax!cvl!umcp-cs!beth
From: beth@umcp-cs.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Re: Children
Message-ID: <2520@umcp-cs.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 9-Sep-83 18:38:02 EDT
Article-I.D.: umcp-cs.2520
Posted: Fri Sep  9 18:38:02 1983
Date-Received: Sat, 10-Sep-83 07:25:58 EDT
Organization: Univ. of Maryland, Computer Science Dept.
Lines: 25

Perhaps raising children is not the absolutely best pursuit in life.  There
are some people who make terrible parents.  However, if we all decided that we
should not have children, the human race would soon be extinct.  That scenario
will not occur, of course. However, we do need to strike some sort of balance
between raising children and other pursuits.

Many parents, and mostly mothers, are trying to balance careers and children.
Often, a parent will want to stay home with the children for a few weeks,
months, or years.  Perhaps the parents believe one or the other of them
should be there when their child first walks, first speaks, or comes running
in with a skinned knee or the latest drawing from school.  Sometimes it is not
feasible for only one parent to work.  Many businesses have developed at-home
work schedules, job-sharing, part-time jobs (with prorated benefits), and
flexible schedules.  Some have both maternal and paternal leave of reasonable
length.  However, too many businesses are not this flexible.

I believe that businesses need to become more tolerant of parents and their
needs.  Parents, and mostly mothers, need to weigh the needs of their jobs
against the needs of their children.  For some, the decision is to not have
children.  That is their choice.  I want to have children.  I want either my
husband or myself to be home with them the majority of the time.  I have to
consider what constraints that will put on our careers.  Hopefully, we will be
able to find something where one of us can work part-time and/or mostly at
home. There aren't many jobs like that, but at least in computer science it
is plausible.